Manchester City have submitted a bid for an “energetic” midfielder ahead of the January transfer window, and Pep Guardiola is believed to be a big fan, according to a report.
Man City struggles continue with defeat to Aston Villa
City’s struggles were underlined by their defeat at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, falling to a 2-1 defeat after yet another disappointing display, which leaves them outside the top four in the Premier League.
Guardiola’s side have dropped off considerably this season after winning the league four years in a row, and their poor run of form coincides with Rodri being sidelined with an injury, indicating just how important the midfielder is to the team.
Manchester City managerPepGuardiola
In the Spaniard’s absence, Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan got the nod in central midfield yesterday afternoon, but they flattered to deceive, with the latter arguably now in the twilight years of his career.
As such, Guardiola may feel he needs to strengthen this winter if his side are going to force their way back into Champions League contention, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jamal Musiala thought to be a target, albeit and expensive one.
Manchester City now want to sign "excellent" new defender ahead of Chelsea
It could be the beginning of a major shake-up at the Etihad Stadium.
ByBen Browning Nov 25, 2024
Now, it seems as though Guardiola has identified his main target to strengthen the midfield, with reports from Spain detailing that an opening Man City offer has been made for Atalanta midfielder Ederson, with Guardiola personally seeing him ‘as an ideal reinforcement’ in 2025.
Manchester United are also interested in the midfielder, which could drive up the price, and there is a feeling that a deal could amount to around €70m (£58m), with a swap deal also possible. City are said to be determined to beat their rivals to the 25-year-old’s signature, and the outcome of the transfer battle is likely to be known within the next few weeks.
Man City need a new midfielder
Amid links to Liverpool earlier this year, the Brazilian was lauded by journalist Bence Bocsak, who said:
Since then, the Atalanta star has kicked on even further, playing a big role in Atalanta’s successful Europa League campaign, and he has remained one of the first names on the team sheet for the Serie A side this season.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman celebrates scoring their third goal withEdersonand Matteo Ruggeri and completes his hat-trick.
It is evident that City need to strengthen this January, with the Rodri injury exposing how reliant they are on the Spain international, and they need to reinforce their midfield with a player proven at the top level.
Ederson could fit the bill in that regard, but it remains to be seen whether City can win the race for his signature, particularly considering the ongoing legal battle with the Premier League, which could be off-putting to potential targets.
Arsenal star Kai Havertz and his wife Sophia have announced the birth of their first child in a heartwarming social media post.
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Havertz and Sophia announce birth of baby boyConfirmed pregnancy news last NovemberArsenal making do without Havertz due to injuryFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱@sophiaaemilia @kaihavertz29WHAT HAPPENED?
Haverz and Sophia announced their pregnancy news in November last year with a joint Instagram post and labelled the event as "our biggest blessing". On Wednesday, in another joint post, the couple shared a photograph holding their baby boy's hand.
AdvertisementWHAT HAS BEEN SAID
The heartwarming Instagram post from the pair read: "Welcome to the world our little boy. We love you so much!"
Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Havertz suffered a major injury setback last month when he tore his hamstring in Arsenal's mid-season training camp in Dubai. He later successfully underwent surgery but will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Before the injury, the German forward had appeared in 34 matches across all competitions for Arsenal, recording 15 goals and five assists.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side, who are trailing league leaders Liverpool by 12 points, will be back in action next week as they are all set to face Fulham at home in a crucial Premier League fixture.
Only Lord’s has so far enjoyed strong ticket sales for the first four days of its Test which will raise further concerns about the longest format
George Dobell30-Jul-2018England may be celebrating playing the 1,000th Test this week at Edgbaston, but the prospect of 10,000 or so empty seats on the first couple of days may provide a reminder of the challenges facing the oldest format of the international game.Certainly ticket sales at Edgbaston for the first couple of days of the series are modest. With about 15,000 expected to attend on the first day (a figure that includes more than a 1,000 complimentary tickets) and just over 13,000 for the second, the ground will be little over half full of its capacity of just under 25,000. And while sales for the next couple of days are better – the third day, Friday, is almost a sell-out – the spectacle of so many empty seats may both dampen spirits and stiffen the resolve at the ECB to explore new avenues to engage with a new audience.It is not just Birmingham that is struggling to attract spectators, either. Sales at the Ageas Bowl (Southampton) are modest – first day sales for the fourth Test are currently around 8,000, with fourth day sales around 5,000 – while even venues with a strong sales records such as The Oval and Trent Bridge are facing a challenge to sell tickets for this series. Trent Bridge, for example, has sold around 13,000 tickets for the third day of the third Test – which is a Monday – while The Oval has sold around 7,000 for the fourth day of the final Test; also a Monday.While series against India have long been seen as premium events for the grounds vying for hosting rights, these figures suggest that the Test format no longer attracts spectators in the way the shorter formats do – these sides recently played six limited-overs games in front of full houses in England and Wales – and that only Ashes Tests can all but guarantee sell-out stadiums. At Edgbaston, at least, the majority of ticket sales have been made to England supporters which suggest the India fans who filled stadiums for the white balls games are less keen to attend Test cricket.There are, perhaps, another couple of lessons. One is that Thursday starts offer grounds the best opportunity to gain decent sales figures over the first four days of the match – both in terms of corporate hospitality and general ticket sales – while the other is that the newer venues – especially those in out-of-town locations such as the Ageas Bowl – face a real struggle to match the attendances achieved at the traditional venues. Only at Lord’s, who have an optimal Thursday start, are ticket sales strong for the first four days of games.There will be some focus on the price of tickets, too. But with the asking price for Edgbaston starting at GBP29 and many complimentary tickets given away (mainly to those involved in All Stars and to members of the armed services), it seems as if the problem may be some way deeper than that.The news comes at a time when sales of tickets of the Vitality Blast – the domestic T20 competition – are strong. Attendances in 2018 are up around 80,000 on the same stage on 2017 which was, in turn, a record year.
Joe Denly had a night to remember as he scored a hundred and then took a hat-trick as Kent Spitfires beat Surrey by six runs
ECB Reporters Network and ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2018 ScorecardJoe Denly had a night to remember as he scored a hundred and then took a hat-trick as Kent Spitfires beat Surrey by six runs in their Vitality Blast opener at the Kia Oval.In front of a crowd of 23,291 Denly made 102 from 63 balls, helping the Spitfires to 173 for 6 after they had won the toss.Surrey were on course for a successful chase when they reached 135 for 3 in the 13th over with Ben Foakes going well before Denly, bowling his occasional leg breaks, made another decisive contribution. Rikki Clarke was stumped coming down the track, Jamie Smith lbw padding up and Matt Pillans caught by wicketkeeper Sam Billings off a top-edge into the leg side.”I may have taken a hat-trick in the garden before but not out in the middle,” Denly said. “And if I’m honest it was a naughty hat-trick ball, caught down the leg side, but I’ll take it because it got us back in the game. As a specialist batsman the century probably means more to me but I’ll take the hat-trick – it was a very nice moment.”Research by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians revealed that Denly duly became the first player in List A 50-over or T20 cricket to score a hundred and take a hat-trick in the same match. There were three previous instances of 50 and a hat-trick in T20, and seven in List A.Download our T20 Blast Podcast
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Kent’s victory was far from certain. Freddie van den Bergh and Morne Morkel departed cheaply to leave Surrey needing 18 off 16 balls but Foakes took a precious boundary off Carlos Brathwaite in the 19th over to get the equation down to nine off 12 balls with two wickets in hand.However, he could only watch at the other end as New Zealander Adam Milne sealed victory by yorking Gareth Batty and having Jade Dernbach caught behind off successive balls. Surrey were bowled out for 167 with seven balls unused and Foakes was left stranded on 75 not out.It was quite a night for Denly, who passed 4,500 T20 runs during an innings where he seldom took any risks, ruthlessly punishing anything short or wide instead.His stand of 104 off 66 balls with Heino Kuhn for the second wicket laid the foundations for Kent’s formidable total.The Spitfires looked on course for more than 200 when Denly was in full flow but they were pegged back by Pillans, who finished with 3 for 22 including Denly, who drove wearily to long on in the final over after striking 12 fours and two sixes.Pillans also picked up debutant Brathwaite, who was brilliantly caught by the diving Smith, and skipper Billings (14). Surrey skipper Dernbach, who had removed Daniel Bell-Drummond for a second-ball duck in the first over, returned to pick up Alex Blake as he finished with 2 for 32.Surrey’s reply began well. Foakes and opener Rory Burns needed just 40 balls as they thrashed 85 for the second wicket after the early loss of Will Jacks. Seamer Ivan Thomas came in for particular punishment as his two overs disappeared for 37 runs.Even when Burns (39) lost his leg stump trying to work Callum Haggett down the leg side and Ollie Pope fell cheaply Surrey needed 65 from 64 balls with six wickets in hand. Denly, though, had other ideas and Surrey, who were without five internationals including their Australian pair Aaron Finch and Nic Maddinson, were left to reflect on a second successive defeat.
These days, Aston Villa are unlikely to be too bothered about their goalkeeping situation – seeing as World Cup winner Emi Martinez is part of a great setup that has rewarded the Lions with a first involvement in European football in over a decade.
However, the Villans would be refreshed to hear that they're not the only ones who have taken the rough with the smooth before coming good in recent seasons. Step forward, Pierluigi Gollini.
How much did Aston Villa sell Pierluigi Gollini for?
Gollini signed for then-Champiosnhip Aston Villa in 2015. The young 'keeper had had a promising Serie A season with Hellas Verona, and showed why he'd been involved with the youth academies of Fiorentina and even Manchester United.
However, in Birmingham, things didn't exactly materialise for the 6 foot 4 stopper with Aston Villa struggling to bounce back from relegation to the second tier under Roberto Di Matteo.
Pairing some key Gollini mistakes as well as the eventual sacking of the manager who bought him – the keeper fell further and further down the pecking order.
Pierluigi Gollini in action for Aston Villa in the Championship.
When Steve Bruce arrived, Mark Bunn was preferred for the 2016 festive period. Then, Sam Johnstone came in on loan in the January window from Manchester United – all but cementing the club's intentions to get Gollini gone.
Atalanta obliged and took him on loan for 18 months before making the move permanent in June 2018 for what now seems a steal of £4.5m.
Where is Pierluigi Gollini now?
In Bergamo, Gollini steadily became a constant feature in a side of often-cult players that achieved great league placements for La Dea.
After gradually surpassing Erit Berisha's spot as number one, Gollini spent two terms in the team that finished third in 2019/20, and 2020/21. In Atalanta's debut Champions League campaign, Gollini featured in every group game as they finished second.
Soccer Football – Serie A – Juventus v Atalanta – Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy – December 16, 2020 Atalanta’s Pierluigi Gollini celebrates after Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo fails to score a penalty REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
In the 19/20 campaign, Gollini kept eight clean sheets. He then beat that in 20/21 with ten as the rest of the league saw what a capable keeper Aston Villa had let go.
This prompted admittedly inconsistent loans to both Tottenham and Fiorentina before he settled again on loan with Napoli.
The Italian giants have taken Gollini on loan twice with the potential for a permanent move – and his form when given the chance, and support to the group, has kept him at the club. When he got the opportunity in Napoli's Serie A winning campaign ahead of regular Alex Meret – Gollini kept two clean sheets in four appearances. Impressive work indeed.
Now, despite being lauded "as among the hottest goalkeeping prospects to come out of Italy", before only spending six months at Aston Villa – Gollini's story shows that persistent determination and a clearly endearing nature can get you where you want to go.
Maybe after all, it looks as if the 'keeper can keep repaying Roberto Di Matteo's judgement: "Gollini is a highly-rated goalkeeper in Italy, he's young, a good shot-stopper, he comes for crosses, he's good with his feet."
Indeed, perhaps that sale of just £4.5m was a mistake after all. Imagine him and Martinez together…
James Sutherland has announced his resignation from his role as Cricket Australia chief executive, with a 12-month succession plan put in place to find a replacement
Daniel Brettig06-Jun-20181:37
Had been thinking about it for a long time – Sutherland
An era ended as James Sutherland joined the growing line of departures from Cricket Australia in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, though he insisted that his managed exit after 17 years was the result of more than 24 months of careful discussion with the chairman David Peever.Sutherland served as chief executive since 2001 and oversaw a period of great growth but also turmoil. Most recently, the South Africa tour shone a poor light on the national team and the organisation. However, the game’s financial growth during his time was enormous. Some of the major changes included the formation of the Big Bash League in 2011, the start of day-night Test cricket in 2015, and major increases in broadcast rights deals in 2013 and this year.James Sutherland’s statement
“Today I’m announcing my intention to stand down as chief executive of Cricket Australia. In advising David [Peever] and the board of my decision I’ve provided 12 months’ notice. It’s my intention to give the board the opportunity to run a thorough process to identify my successor and for me to provide support to the new CEO with the smoothest possible handover. After nearly 20 years at CA and 17 as chief executive, the time is right for me and my family and I think the time is also right for cricket. “My overwhelming feeling today is a sense of gratitude. I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to do this job and I’ve worked closely with six chairmen. I’d like to thank David and each of his five predecessors for having the confidence in me and for their friendship, support and counsel along the way. “By far the most inspiring thing about the job that I do is the people that I work with. I love and admire their passion for the game and their dedication to serve the cricket community. In addition to those at CA that includes people in our states and territories and of course the thousands of volunteers across Australia who do a wonderful job for cricket. Any credit to me has only ever been due to the great people around me. “Finally, thanks to my family. None of our three kids were born when I started work at CA, so in a sense that’s all they know. But it’s my wife Heidi who is the one who really deserves the credit. She’s made her own personal sacrifices for my career and our own family and I can’t thank her enough for her support and understanding.”
It was a measure of Sutherland’s eventful tenure that he sat alongside Peever, who is the sixth he has served alongside, after Denis Rogers, Bob Merriman, Creagh O’Connor, Jack Clarke and Wally Edwards. On the same day Sutherland revealed his intention to depart, Peever confirmed he had the CA Board’s backing to continue for another three years.As such, Peever is looking increasingly like the lone survivor of Newlands and its aftermath, which has so far included bans for the captain Steven Smith, deputy David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the resignation of the coach Darren Lehmann, the hurried removal of the head of integrity – and Cape Town investigator – Iain Roy and now the end of Sutherland’s long stint at the helm. At the same time the former board director Kevin Roberts has been promoted to chief operating officer, a role Sutherland had previously declined to furnish. That places Roberts in the vanguard of a candidate list that may also include the former NSW chairman John Warn, the state’s chief executive and former CA strategist Andrew Jones, and the recently appointed game development chief Belinda Clark.It is believed that the CA Board had wanted Sutherland to outline an exit strategy for quite some time. Peever, who reckoned there would be a “slight bias” towards candidates who are both Australian and insiders to cricket, explained that he and Sutherland had discussed the CEO’s future for almost the entirety of his time since becoming chairman in 2015, with the recent Ashes summer considered an appropriate end point. However, they subsequently agreed he should stay on to see through the completion of a new, A$1.18 billion television rights deal – Newlands took place in between.”When James and I were getting clearer about timing we talked about the end of the successful men’s and women’s Ashes summer as a good juncture,” Peever said in Melbourne. “But then we talked more about it and said we really need to complete the media rights process. There is no good time, there is always something going on in cricket, and so we decided then that after media rights were completed that James would announce.”Clearly, the ball-tampering issue has created upheaval, we’ve got the review process going on. I think it has also helped us understand better the extraordinary passion that Australians have for cricket and the importance of us as administrators to make sure we’re tapping back into that passion and respecting that passion, and indeed our strategy goes very strongly back to fans and grassroots.”The board has asked me to do another term [as chairman] and I’ve agreed to do that. I think at times like this continuity is important, so we have transition to a new CEO, we have leadership changes in the Australia men’s set-up, we have a massive summer coming up which we’re all excited about, we have a World Cup and Ashes next year, we’ve got a World T20 in 2020, we’ve got new financial models, we’ve got new broadcasters, so on the basis of all those things going on, with James transitioning out, I’ve agreed to do another term.”4:24
Brettig: Sutherland will be remembered for the way he handled controversies
Having joined CA as a lieutenant of Malcolm Speed, Sutherland was only 35 when named chief executive in 2001. He oversaw a period featuring issues such as Shane Warne’s 2003 drugs ban, the decline of the national team from 2007 until the Don Argus-led review of team performance in 2011, the dramatic sacking of the coach Mickey Arthur and replacement by Darren Lehmann in 2013, the death of Phillip Hughes in 2014 and the “Big Three” takeover of the ICC in the same year, and then last’s year’s hot-tempered MoU dispute, a process he was kept out of by Peever before ultimately intervening late in the piece.Yet, at the same time, there were major advancements. The advent of the Big Bash League and day-night Test cricket were significant on-field innovations, women’s cricket grew from amateurism to full professionalism over his time, and the size of the Australian game grew exponentially in financial terms through burgeoning successive television rights deals. This mixture of drama and growth was never better summed up than by the latest broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports and Seven being signed a matter of weeks after the disgrace of Newlands. Sutherland may have hoped to stay on until hosting the World Twenty20 in 2020, but he will now leave around the same time that Smith and Warner return to the playing arena.”My view has always been I’d like to go out on my terms, but at the same time I want to go out in such a way that allows the game to make a smooth transition,” Sutherland said. “I think that having been in the role for 17 years there are things I’ve come to know along the way that it was only appropriate for me to work closely with my successor but at the same time I’ll be keen to get out of their way as quickly as possible as well.”Our business works on a four, five, six year cycle and it just so happens that right now, putting aside the fact I’ve been in the role for 17 years, we’ve adopted a new strategy, we have the collective agreement with our players in place we’ve just done a new media rights deal that puts us in a really strong position about certainty of revenue for this next cycle, as well as the ICC piece, it just feels that with all those things done it’s a really good time for me to step aside but also a really good time for a new chief executive to come in and have a good run at it.”Speaking about Roberts’ recent elevation, Sutherland said it had been a matter of ascribing the former Adidas retail executive a title befitting the role he had increasingly come to play. “From my perspective and internally people would know and understand that over the last 12 months or so at least Kevin’s had a very broad role and has been effectively my deputy and CEO,” he said. “So from that perspective I think it’s really turning what was a convoluted title into a COO and allows that clarity about his role.”Getty ImagesAlways reluctant to talk about himself, Sutherland parried away a question about personal highlights and lowlights by outlining what he had always thought was the most important element of his role – ensuring as many children played the game as possible, to show them its virtues but also to grow the size of the game.”My underlying belief about the most important thing we do as sports administrators is inspire the next generation to love cricket,” Sutherland said. “Boys and girls, it’s all about that and whilst that doesn’t necessarily get the publicity that it deserves, the facts of the matter are that if kids today are not getting bats and balls in their hands, not seeing and understanding the opportunity that is there from playing cricket, then the game doesn’t have a future. That has been the underlying driver for me in this role, all the way through.”It’s about the kids and about making sure the game has a sustainable future through the next generation. In a specific sense the Big Bash is part and parcel in that, something that’s come into play to bring new people to the game, it’s a great success story for Australian cricket, but it’s one piece of the jigsaw that also includes the opportunity and the access to the game that boys and girls around the country need, and the support that states and territories play in providing that is incredibly important.”The importance of providing access to the game for as many children as possible has been a consistent theme of Sutherland’s years in charge, but his departure has followed the first instance in Australian cricket history of placing a portion of home international cricket behind a television paywall. Just as compromise and contradiction has been required to retain the role for this many years, so too has it applied to the way Sutherland’s time will be remembered.”We’ve had some big things to deal with over the course of the last 12 months,” Sutherland said. “Obviously there’s Cape Town but there’s also some key planks now in place that allow me to step aside and for a new chief executive to come in and have a really strong platform.”
Leeds United were relegated back down to the Championship earlier this year after a three-year stint at the top table of English football.
The Whites enjoyed a couple of seasons of survival before they failed to avoid the drop at the end of the 2022/23 campaign under Sam Allardyce.
They owe plenty of credit to former head coach Marcelo Bielsa, whose brilliance in the dugout helped to lead the club back to the big time with promotion in the 2019/20 season – during his second year at Elland Road.
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Leeds won the Championship title to secure their place in the Premier League for the following term and the Argentine was named the LMA Manager of the Year for his work with the Yorkshire outfit.
Whilst it was a fantastic season that was full of success for the Whites and Bielsa as they earned promotion and a trophy in 2020, the current Uruguay national team boss dodged a disaster during the January transfer window of that campaign; a move for Britt Assombalong.
Were Leeds interested in Britt Assombalonga?
The Mirror reported in January 2020 that the club were interested in a deal to sign Middlesbrough centre-forward Assombalonga to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.
It was claimed that Bielsa wanted another number nine to compete with and ease the burden on Patrick Bamford, who went on to score 16 league goals that term and proved himself to be a better option than the ex-Watford man would have been.
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford.
The Leeds target had 18 months left to run on his contract on Teeside but the report did not state how much it would have taken for Victor Orta and the Argentine boss to secure his services on a permanent basis.
Middlesbrough signed the forward from Nottingham Forest for £15m in the summer of 2017 and, although it remains unclear, they may have wanted a fair chunk of that back to sanction a move.
Ultimately, Leeds opted against a swoop for Assombalonga and they went through the January transfer window without adding a striker to their squad on a permanent basis.
This turned out to be a blessing for the Whites as the DR Congo international's career has taken a turn for the worse since being linked with a move to Yorkshire in 2020.
Why were Leeds interested in Assombalonga?
Bielsa likely wanted to sign Assombalonga based on his proven track record as a goalscorer for Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest at Championship level.
The marksman joined Forest from Peterborough in the summer of 2014 after an impressive return of 23 goals and three assists in 43 League One outings for the Posh.
He hit the ground running in the Championship with 15 goals and one assist in 29 league matches for the Tricky Trees during his debut campaign at the City Ground, with an average of slightly more than a goal every other game.
Assombalonga then missed a staggering 80 competitive matches with a knee injury between 2014 and 2015 and showed great character to come back and fire home 14 goals in 32 league games during the 2016/17 campaign.
The reliable finisher carried his goalscoring form over to Boro in 2017 with 15 goals and two assists in 44 Championship outings during the 2017/18 season.
That was then followed up by 14 goals in 42 second-tier clashes throughout the following term, as he proved himself to be a consistent scorer at that level over the course of a number of years.
Assombalonga scored six goals and provided two assists in 20 Championship appearances during the first half of the 2019/20 campaign, which led to interest from Leeds in January of that season.
Former Middlesbrough striker Britt Assombalonga.
Eddie Nketiah had spent that time on loan at Elland Road from Arsenal and only found the back of the net three times in 17 league outings before his return to The Emirates at the start of 2020.
The Middlesbrough star's impressive statistics at Championship level suggested that he would have been an excellent addition to compete with Bamford.
Where is Assombalonga now?
The Whites failed to secure a deal for his services and, over three years on from that window, the centre-forward now finds himself playing for Antalyaspor in Turkey.
Assombalonga's decline started in the 2020/21 campaign as the DR Congo international only managed five goals and zero assists in 31 league matches for Middlesbrough.
His poor form for the English side then led to a free transfer to Super Lig team Adana Demirspor in the summer of 2021, where he went on to score 18 goals in 54 appearances in all competitions.
Former Watford striker Britt Assombalonga.
The former Peterborough star joined Watford on a short-term deal at the start of this year and struggled as he scored two goals and failed to provide a single assist in 11 Championship games for the Hornets.
He returned to Turkey to join Antalyaspor this summer and has failed to score or assist a single goal in his first six matches with the club to date.
How much is Assombalonga worth now?
FootballTransfers rates his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just €600k (£500k), illustrating how badly the last few years have gone for the former Leeds target.
He has scored two goals in 17 league games in 2023, for Watford and Antalyaspor combined, and is worth a staggering £14.5m less than what Middlesbrough paid for him in 2017.
Whilst it remains to be seen how much Leeds would have had to pay for his services during the January transfer window, there is little doubt that Bielsa dodged a disaster by missing out on Assombalonga.
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford.
His statistics indicate that he would have been a big downgrade on Bamford, who scored 16 Championship goals and then 17 Premier League goals during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns respectively.
He outscored the Middlesbrough ace in the second tier and then proved himself to be capable of dealing with the rigours of top-flight football.
The former Chelsea prospect's current xTV also sits at €11.7m (£10m), at the age of 30. This suggests that the former England international would not have been usurped by the Whites target, due to his superior goalscoring record and significantly higher market value.
Southampton could be set to lose one of their summer signings to injury for the forseeable future, and one journalist has reacted to the disappointing news he’s hearing from St. Mary’s.
Hull vs Southampton team news
In the Championship, Russell Martin already has Jack Stephens on the sidelines having been missing since August, but there has recently been some more encouraging news regarding the fitness of a fresh face who is yet to make his first appearance for the club.
According to Saints reporter Mark Wyatt, Ross Stewart could be set to make the bench for this weekend’s second-tier game vs Hull City at the MKM Stadium, but with one player likely to return to domestic action, another is unfortunately expected to take his place in the treatment room on the south coast.
Since putting pen to paper on a season-long loan over the summer, Manchester City centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis has started all six of the games he’s featured in, and he’s formed a solid defensive partnership with Jan Bednarek (WhoScored – Harwood-Bellis statistics), but there is a chance that he might be ruled out for an unknown period of time.
England’s youth international returned from representing his nation early last week after sustaining an injury, but with further assessment and any kind of comment yet to be released regarding the extent of the 21-year-old’s problem, it isn’t looking good.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis injury update
Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones offered his verdict following the injury update on Taylor Harwood-Bellis and admitted that it will be a concern should he get sidelined at Southampton.
He said: "Yeah it would be [a blow]. He's played a significant role this season and obviously, of all of the things that have gone wrong for Southampton, at least they had the makings of a partnership that was showing real promise.
"You've got both ends of the equation there in terms of youth, experience, and hope, and then you've also got someone of such experience in Bednarek, so it's a real blow for Southampton if he's going to be out for a while.
"Obviously, they are getting back in and need to check him out thoroughly, and they won't take any risks on him. But from a Southampton perspective, they really will hope they can get him back in that team as soon as possible."
Burnley's former loan defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
How tall is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?
Standing at 6 foot 2, Harwood-Bellis has been a rock at the heart of Southampton’s backline since joining, where he’s been averaging 4.2 clearances and 2.8 aerial wins per game in the Championship, highlighting the real physical presence he provides.
The Stockport-born talent is also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch having posted 15 contributions, ten goals and five assists, since the start of his career, showing the threat he can pose when it comes to set pieces (Transfermarkt – Harwood-Bellis statistics).
Additionally, Harwood-Bellis knows what it takes to get out of the division having achieved promotion with Burnley last term, where his fighting spirit saw him hailed a “warrior” by journalist Josh Bunting, but this is another attribute that Martin could have to cope without.
The two batsmen hit counterattacking centuries in the second innings after Central Zone had secured a 111-run first-innings lead in Rajshahi
ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2018Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain hit centuries to help South Zone secure a draw against Central Zone, after they had conceded a 111-run first-innings lead in Rajshahi.After being sent in, South Zone collapsed to 191 all out in 49.5 overs, with only opener Fazle Mahmud (40) passing 30. Seamer Ebadot Hossain and left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain took four wickets each for Central Zone.Central Zone’s batsmen showed greater fight and posted 302, with opener Shadman Islam top-scoring with 93. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who had recently made a comeback to the national team, claimed 6 for 106 in 31 overs for South Zone.South Zone started shakily in their second innings, too, and were 84 for 3 in the 26th over. Mithun, however, revived the innings with a 193-run stand for the fourth wicket with Tushar Imran. Mithun hit 118 off 121 balls, including 16 fours and a six, while Tushar made 88 off 141 balls, with 10 fours and a six.Mosaddek then took charge of the innings, despite a shoulder injury. He added 53 for the seventh wicket with Ziaur Rahman before adding 121 runs for the eighth wicket with Nayeem Hasan, who chipped in with 43. Mosaddek stayed unbeaten on 102 off 107 balls.Central Zone were 158 for 5 when play was called off on the final day. Razzak took three wickets to stretch his match tally to nine.
Jimmy Adams admitted it was “a hard slog” and added: “I would not teach my kids to bat like me”
ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2018 ScorecardJimmy Adams missed out on his first Specsavers County Championship century of the season as bad light frustrated both Hampshire and Essex at the Ageas Bowl.Opening batsman Adams began his innings at 11.30am on the first day and reached a slow-paced 87 runs before he was finally dismissed at 3.10pm on the third day.”It was a hard slog,” he said. “I wouldn’t teach my kids to bat like me.”But overcast conditions created light issues for the second day in a row to allowed only 28 overs to be bowled on Sunday – meaning 135 overs had been lost to bad light in the match, in addition to 81 overs to rain.Adams and Hashim Amla had batted wonderfully during the morning session, having returned on 57 and eight respectively overnight.Batting was again tricky, despite the older ball, with dark clouds hanging over the ground with the floodlights turned on throughout the day.South African star Amla provided the shot making, while Adams dropped anchor as he took 20 minutes to get odd the mark for the day.Amla scored his first Hampshire half century at the Kia Oval last week against Surrey and continued in his usual classy style to record another milestone – coming off 80 chanceless deliveries.Meanwhile, Adams was enjoying a battle with fast bowler Jamie Porter – with balls regularly speeding past the outside edge.Porter managed to find the 37-year-old’s edge, when on 62, but Alastair Cook spilled the regulation chance at first slip -before the morning action was curtailed to just 23.2 overs.Play eventually recommenced at 2.45pm, just two overs into the new ball.And the fresh ball worked wonders for Porter and Peter Siddle as Amla fell to the latter in the first full over following the return to the wicket.Australian Siddle set-up his fellow overseas, with shrewd swing bowling, as he found exaggerated movement in both directions, before catching the outside of the bat before wicketkeeper James Foster completed the catch off the last ball of the over.Amla departing for a well-made 52, with the wicket ending a 93-run partnership for the third wicket.Porter then managed to end Jimmy Adams’ 264-ball, and almost six hour, stay at the crease with an angled delivery coming around the wicket to pin the left-hander lbw, for a patient 87.The half an hour mini-session earned Essex an impressive analysis of 18 for two in 29 balls but that was all the action possible after 3.15pm.